A friend has recently pointed out to me that faith in Christ, repentance, water baptism, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost are not separate events or a checklist, but parts of a contiguous whole. They include enduring to the end, but enduring in what? Each of these steps is part of a recursive cycle, and we endure inside that process. We exercise faith unto repentance continually; we repent continually to be worthy of partaking of the sacrament (and other ordinances) which renews our baptismal covenants; we are baptized, or effectively rebaptized every time we partake of the sacrament; and we are commanded to receive the Holy Ghost when we are confirmed members of the Church of Christ, not just once, but always. When we receive the Holy Ghost, He bolsters our faith in Christ, and the process, the circle, begins again. Every time we repent of sin (commission), or do something good we neglected (repent of omission), we progress. And since exaltation is our ultimate goal, this cycle never stops until we are like Jesus (in other words, there is no finish line in the foreseeable future). Once we are like Him, full of grace and truth, then we can say that we have crossed the finish line for ourselves. Or maybe we have crossed a finish line, and a starting line; we go from helping ourselves (Acts 2:37-38) and working on our own salvation, to working on ourselves and helping others (Alma 26:22), to one day helping others exclusively, like Jesus (2Ne. 26:24, 27).
On playgrounds of the past, before the spirit of litigation made fun toys too immense of a liability, there were merry go rounds. These swiveling platforms had handlebars so kids could ride them while other kids, who were not riding, could spin them. In a similar way, different people participate at different points in propelling the cycle of faith, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost. Though we participate in all four parts of the cycle, in my opinion repentance is the point where we make the biggest contribution to our own salvation.
Jesus is called the "author and finisher" of our faith (Moroni 6:4). While we must exercise faith, many things must be done by Him, and His emissaries, before we can even do that. Faith comes by the hearing the word (Rom. 10:17). Directly from Jesus, or written, or delivered by an angel, or a mortal Apostle or missionary, we cannot exercise faith in Christ until we get the correct information. Even after we receive correct information, the Spirit must confirm its correctness before our faith is efficacious. Unless the Holy Spirit leans on us, we cannot even get a clear view of what we are hoping for, longing for, what we are having faith in (John 3:3). What do we exercise faith unto? Repentance.
Our faith is most evident in what we do, or do not do, and what we feel and desire. What we believe most firmly shapes who we are, how we feel, what we want, and how we act. Faith without works is dead (James 2:26). In the four-part circle or process, "repent" is the verb most loaded with concrete instructions for us. As Hugh Nibley points out in Approaching Zion, "...you can't repent somebody else or force somebody else; you just repent" (p. 417). You could theoretically categorize all commandments and rules under one word: repentance. If we are not following a commandment that applies to us in our current circumstances, we need to repent by following that commandment. In 3Ne. 11:32-33, Jesus tells the Nephites when He arrives: "And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God" (emphasis added). Repentance applies to everyone, not just sinful thems and theys over there, but to us, that person we see in the mirror. "God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect," President Uchtdorf notes. "Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not" ("Forget Me Not," Oct. 2011 General Conference). Jesus' commandment, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as I, or your Father which is in heaven is perfect (3Ne. 12:48)," is a call to repentance for everyone who is not yet perfect. I think that all our improvements may be safely categorized as forms of repentance.
When we are confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one holding the Melchizedek Priesthood lays his hands on our head, and says, "receive the Holy Ghost." This is not a passive instruction; it is a command to actively make ourselves a fit Temple for the influence and power of that member of the Godhead to dwell in. "Let every heart prepare him room," as Isaac Watt said. We cannot force the Spirit to be with us; we can only invite. How do we invite? Repentance! Obey the promptings of the Spirit. Stop offending the Spirit. Do those things that most thoroughly invite His presence. Sing hymns, participate in ordinances, attend Church, pay tithing, study the scriptures, serve others, fast, pray, attend the Temple, research your ancestors, share the gospel message with others, bear testimony, let your mind rest on Jesus and eternity. There are many ways we can invite the Spirit. Special prominence is given to one way, however, that does not receive much attention in our meetings, or is glossed over with brief lip service: humility. Jesus said: "And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." Deep humility allows us to receive the Spirit in a way, and to a level, that is not possible in any other way.
